Bill Jennings: Preseason workouts more functional than aesthetic

Soon you will be returning to an activity that your body currently isn’t accustomed to performing. It’s time for a strength and conditioning program specific to skiing and snowboarding. To get started, you need to reach down deep and start from within.

“You’re only as strong as your core,” said Chris Parisi, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist at Spokane Physical Therapy. “It’s sort of a cliché, but in terms of skiing and snowboarding your core is so important to be able to stabilize your extremities.”

Parisi will offer his expertise in a free seminar on ski and snowboarding conditioning at REI Spokane on Nov. 16. You can learn more there about how to lay the groundwork for core stability that helps safeguard against injury. We could already be on the cusp of a new season by then. So I asked for a sneak preview – too many details to fit in this space. But here’s the gist:

“You can’t fire a cannon from a canoe,” Parisi said. “You need very much a battleship of a core.”

Parisi told me a battleship core is more functional than aesthetic, and deeper than superficial. It goes far beyond a well-defined rectus abdominis, or “sixpack.” Anatomically, the core is known as the “lumbo pelvic hip complex.”

This includes a series of muscles in the pelvic floor and gluteus, as well as the transversus abdominis up front and multifidus along the spine. All these muscles must work together, transferring energy from the center before the arms and legs can move.

“A lot of people want to go straight to the dummy muscles that don’t have a good ability to coordinate the lumbar spine,” Parisi said. “The rectus abdominis only has a connection to your ribs and your pubic bone. But muscles like the transverse abdominis/multifidus help control every level of the lumbar spine.”

To turn on snow, you need a stable lumbar column to effectively rotate your pelvis opposite your trunk during this transfer of energy. According to Parisi, focusing on crunches will only shorten the distance between the ribs and pelvis, which leads to compression and a lack of control in rotation.

“Rotation is the weakest plain of movement in the human body,” Parisi said. “It’s where the most frequent and often times the most severe injuries take place. If we can’t stabilize our lumbar column while we’re making a rotation, we’re putting ourselves at risk.”

I’ve marked Parisi’s seminar on my calendar. But in my sense of urgency I contacted Katie McCaffery, CSCS, CPT, a strength and conditioning specialist at U District PT.

U District PT is a physical therapy and sports performance center near the Gonzaga University campus. McCaffery, who trains the Spokane Nordic Ski Association youth team, suggested that I attend U District’s Boot Camp. It’s a functional fitness class that adjusts with the seasons to meet the needs of recreational enthusiasts.

“We focus on activities that train the upper body and lower body to work together in all three planes of motion,” McCaffery said. “We also train to expect the unexpected. When your brain and your body have experience dealing with awkward positions in a safe gym environment, you can stay on track on the mountain without being injured.”

McCaffery described what I was about to endure as a “moving strength workout,” with an emphasis on core coordination with the upper body and lower body, and “maybe a little bit of humility.” I joined about a half-dozen others in a grueling workout prescribed by U District trainer Katie Lefrice.

The high intensity routine was a long list of calisthenics, plyometrics, resistance, body weight, balance and agility with no rest. We had exactly one hour to go through the entire series … twice. Finishing was a matter of pride because that was all I had left at the end.

I was fulfilled by exhaustion. I also understood in real time how many of the exercises assembled by Lefrice addressed some of the specific biomechanical demands identified by Parisi. McCaffery assured me that workouts like Boot Camp could be just what I need to show up in mid season shape on the first day. But that’s only the beginning.

“You don’t have to waste a day or two on the mountain getting your legs underneath you again,” she said. “But when you start skiing you need to keep up the routine because it will only make your skiing better.”